"The rises in the North East do not surprise me and there needs to be more done to control traffic in the area.

"Speed controls need to be enforced and we need to install in drivers respect for speed limits and the car that they are driving.

"People need to know that driving is very often the most dangerous thing that they will be doing in a day.

"They wouldn't go and operate a piece of dangerous machinery without paying full attention to what they are doing and that's also the problem here.

"Drivers need to be taught that speed cameras should be respected and not used as a game.

"People boast that they can travel at high speeds and break when they approach a camera so they do not get caught. This is an appalling attitude which causes deaths."

Figures released by the Department of Transport show increases on fatal, severe and slight injuries on North East roads.

In 2001 there was 643 fatal or serious casualties in Northumbria police force area, while in the 12 months up to March 2003 there were 708. Casualties of all severity rose from 6,819 in 2001 to 7,443 in 2003.

County Durham saw a rise from 258 to 334 over the same period. All casualties increased from 2,702 to 3,210.

The Felling Bypass and the A1 at Stannington have both seen speed limit restrictions of 50 mph in recent years as a result of accidents. But other roads in the region are still causing problems.

On Saturday a 17-year-old girl cyclist died after a collision with a car on the A19 south of the A1058 Coast Road, near the Silverlink roundabout in North Tyneside.

Last month a motorcyclist died when he came off his bike and hit a car.

The 37-year-old man from Ashington was riding on the C200 road which runs from Bellingham to Kielder.

And in July three young people died in an accident on Shields Road, Bill Quay, Gateshead.

People living near the scene of the crash said drivers regularly speed past their houses and crash on the corner where the accident happened.

Arthur Nelson was mown down by a banned driver in December last year.

He was left dying in Waterville Road, North Shields, a 30mph zone, when he was hit by a car being driven at 70mph by 18-year-old Richard Smith.

At his trial, the jury was told Smith had been banned from driving two months before the tragedy, he was not wearing glasses needed to correct his short sight and he had been told his Vauxhall Cavalier was unroadworthy.

Mr Nelson's widow Mary, of Holy Cross, Wallsend, today said families were being torn apart by the carnage on the region's roads. Mrs Nelson said: "It seems like there's not a week goes by without another serious car crash which kills someone.

"More needs to be done to make roads safer but at the end of the day what can you do?

"Arthur had grandchildren and his death has affected a lot of people and it's the same for other families in our position.

"The Government says it's down to more cars on the roads but I don't think it's got anything to do with that; it's the idiots who drive them that are to blame. Kids can get hold of a car very easily from a scrapyard and you just can't stop them.

"One deterrent would be for sentences to be harder and then they might think twice, it should be life if you kill someone while driving your car.

"What these people need to realise is that families like ours are left with a sentence for the rest of lives."

Insp Gavin Clark, of Northumbria Police's motor patrols, said: "Where we have had a number of accidents we have imposed speed limits.

"The A1 at Stannington is the best example of that.

"It was a blackspot and now, with the 50 mph speed limit imposed, the accidents have fallen.

"But unless there are specific areas then we can not be specific about roads.

"Educating drivers is one of our main focuses. For some driving offences we have introduced driver improvement schemes.

"We believe that these have a positive impact in reducing casualties and by educating drivers about the dangers of speeding and other road safety issues including the use of drink and drugs then casualties will be reduced."

Page 2: The number of deaths on Newcastle's roads has risen.

The number of deaths on Newcastle's roads has risen.

A Newcastle City Council spokesman said: "There were 14 car accidents in 2002 a rise of three on the year before. There is more traffic in Newcastle as well as in recent years people driving using mobiles, driving the night after drinking when they are still over the limit and ignorance about the effects of drugs on driving.

"The city council is doing its best to raise these issues and to make people aware of them and how to drive safely."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport said: "The general trend is encouraging. Deaths on our roads are falling. Fatalities in 2002 were three per cent down on 2001. However, we can't be complacent there is still much that could be done to make Britain's roads safer."

Dad's anguish over tragedy

John Dixon knows all about the pain caused by death on our region's roads.

His son Jonathon, 20, died next to his childhood pal Philip James, 21, in a crash in a country lane.

They were killed in March after their car collided with an oncoming vehicle travelling at at least 45mph.

The smash happened on the winding Stamfordham Road near pub The Jingling Gate at Whorlton Grange, Westerhope, Newcastle.

Former Throckley School pupil Jonathon, of Ethel Street, Benwell, was airlifted to Newcastle General Hospital but died soon afterwards from internal bleeding.

Philip, of North Road, East Boldon, who worked for his father's building firm, died instantly.

John, 51, who was Philip's godfather, said: "The state of the road that my son died on is an absolute disgrace.

"I feel I've lost two sons and Philip's father, Ron, feels the same.

"There are speed limits of 50mph on duel carriageways on the A1 by Stannington and on the Felling bypass - yet this is a country road which is badly surfaced and there a 60mph speed limit on it.

"I just hope that something can be done so that other people don't have to experience what I have."

Page 3: Care plea to young drivers

Care plea to young drivers

Keith Wealands was killed in March after he was offered a lift by pal Daniel Reay.

Minutes into the journey Reay lost control of his Vauxhall Cavalier and ploughed into trees on John Reid Road, in South Shields.

Reay was jailed for two-and-a-half-years at Newcastle Crown Court last month after admitting causing death by careless driving, driving with excess alcohol and having no licence or insurance. A breath test showed he was almost twice the drink-drive limit and crash investigators proved he was travelling above the 50mph limit.

Parents of 22-year-old Keith, a talented footballer, said drivers - especially younger drivers - should heed the rise in deaths on our roads.

And he said adults should show more responsibility to their children.

Reay's court case heard how his mum let the 24-year-old use her car, although he had never had a driving lesson.

Mr Wealands, of Lewis Gardens, South Shields, said today: "People read about deaths in the newspapers and think it won't happen to them, but when it does it devastates your life.

"People need to realise what can happen and should take care on the roads, especially younger drivers.

"And adults need to set a better example. I still can't believe that Reay's mum knew he was taking the car and she should have said no.